Misplaced Priorities: Akwa Ibom Govt’s Extravagant Spending Amidst Food Crisis

The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, has embarked on extravagant spending on grandiose projects despite the food security crisis across the country. From renovating a redundant airport to constructing towers in Lagos, the governor seems to be prioritising these multibillion-naira projects with little or no impact on the people over tackling widespread hunger and economic hardships.

According to the latest inflation report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Akwa Ibom is among the states with the highest food inflation rate in Nigeria, with 41.94 per cent year-on-year food inflation recorded in 2024. It is also one of the states with the highest number of unemployed persons.

Despite these unfavourable indices, the state government is about to begin constructing an 18-floor Tower in Lagos State. On Monday, the governor held a ceremony for the foundation laying of an “Ewet Luxury Gardens” – an estate sited at the former Ewet timber market in Uyo, the state capital. It was at the ceremony that he announced his plan for the construction of the towers in Lagos.

Earlier this month, the governor travelled with government officials to the Netherlands, reportedly to inspect new aircraft for the state government-owned Ibom Air.

Earlier this year, pensioners in the state threatened a mass protest over poor payment of pensions and gratuity. Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Akwa Ibom State Council, alleged that some pensioners who retired in the 80s and 90s were still collecting a paltry sum of N1,000, N1,500, and N2,000 as pension till date.

Meanwhile, Governor Eno’s predecessors also displayed such profligacy amidst the economic sufferings of the masses. In 2017, residents of the state protested against former Governor Udo Emmanuel’s decision to spend N1.2 billion to build a new governor’s lodge in Lagos, even though the state had one in Lagos before. According to old media reports, the protesters were assaulted on the orders of the former governor.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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